Kallakurichi school mystery: Multiple students dead; inhuman treatment alleged

The suspicious death of a 17-year-old female student in Sakthi Matriculation School near Kaniyamoor in Kallakurichi district of Tamil Nadu has opened a can of worms, as allegations of harassment of students have surfaced. More shockingly, at least a couple of cases of suicide earlier have been reported.

The girl’s mother said she received a call from the school on July 13, the day her daughter fell from the third floor and was rushed to the hospital. 

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“Within half an hour, I got another call from the same person who told me that my daughter was dead. When I went to the government hospital, the doctors said that my daughter was brought dead. This is where the suspicion started. Soon, we went to the school premises and saw the place where the school management said that my daughter fell. There were no blood stains there. How can there be no blood stains when I saw my daughter’s head was seriously injured?” the mother asked.

She also alleged that there were similar deaths inside the school premises earlier as well. “I did not know about the deaths earlier. Only after my daughter’s death, I came to know that there were seven such deaths inside the school premises,” Selvi alleged, in a conversation with The Federal on Sunday.

Two deaths confirmed

Though The Federal could not individually verify Selvi’s allegation, Villupuram district’s Chinna Salem police Inspector Chandrasekaran confirmed two such deaths. “However, we do not know the exact details of the cases as they were old cases. We are investigating them,” Chandrasekaran said.

Watch: Kallakurichi student death: Madras HC orders fresh autopsy

Several people in Kaniyamoor, Amsakulam and Chinna Salem echoed the allegations of suspicious deaths inside the school premises.

“Around five years ago, a Class 12 girl died by suicide. We sought explanation from the school authorities, they refused to explain and we were told that she committed suicide and the school has nothing to do with it,” said John Baasha, a resident of Amsakulam, who had participated in the protests against the school, demanding action against the management.

“The only case that got some light is the suicide of a Class 7 student, Raja, in 2004. The boy’s parents even approached the Madras High Court. However, it was also diluted over a period of time,” John Baasa claimed.

Obtaining TC next to impossible

Selvi further claimed that she had sought a Transfer Certificate (TC) of her daughter from the school after the girl completed class 11.

“But they refused to give the TC and forced me to admit her in the same school. Again, they forced us to admit our child in the hostel since she was studying Class 12. On July 1, we admitted my daughter to the hostel and within days, she died,” she alleged.

Other parents too said that they were made to run from pillar to post before they could get their children to leave the school. “Leaving this school is as difficult as getting admission here. Even if the term fee is paid a day late, they would make my son stand out of the class,” said a parent from Chinna Salem, who did not want to be named.

“So long as he studied in the school, I never saw him coming home happy. Once he was called out and asked to kneel down for not paying the fees and that’s when I decided to take him out of the school,” he said.

The Federal attempted to get the school management’s version but there was no response. 

Over two decades old

The school was first started in 1998 as Sakthi Matriculation Higher Secondary School and now it also runs a CBSE school, the ECR International CBSE School. The school chairman EC Ravikumar was part of the BJP’s ‘reclaim Hindu temples’ movement in Tamil Nadu. Though the school claims to be a co-educational one, boys and girls are taught in separate classrooms.

On Monday, July 18, a suicide note claimed by the police to have been written by the deceased girl was accessed by The Federal. There, she said she was finding it difficult to understand the chemical equations and study chemistry. She had requested the school secretary Shanthi to return the fees paid for school, hostel and books since she was there only for a few days.

School staff arrested

Police have arrested the school chairman EC Ravikumar, secretary Shanthi, principal Sivasankaran, chemistry teacher Haripriya and maths teacher Keerthika on charges of abetment to suicide.

(Suicides can be prevented. For help please call Suicide Prevention Helplines: Neha Suicide Prevention Centre – 044-24640050; Aasara helpline for suicide prevention, emotional support & trauma help — +91-9820466726; Kiran, Mental health rehabilitation — 1800-599-0019, Disha 1056, 0471- 2552056, Maithri 0484 2540530).